Baby chacoan wont eat

[ophidia]

My baby (got from them Aug 6th, 11" then) ate red runners, small dubias, and pinkies from the get go. She's 20" now and still will take an occasional dubia, but is far too lazy for red runners. Mostly she eats peach fuzzies rolled in calcium carbonate powder (no D3- the hermit crab calcium from Petsmart is plain superfine calcium carbonate). I've tried ground turkey, ground pheasant, and a little ground beef, and she's ignored it all. Same with fruits-- I've tried blueberries, blackberries, and grapes.

She's also the most chill, laid back lizard I've ever had. She doesn't even give a crap when I dig her up-- I just pull her out and dust her off, then scoop her up, and she doesn't care at all. She likes to hang out behind the couch cushions, behind me, on or near a heating pad. She'll actually climb into my hand and onto my arm when I put my arm in her cage.

She's a super girl and I hope yours is too . She's the coolest reptile I've ever had, and I've had a lot of reptiles over the years.

 

[N8bub]

The issue with hissers isn't nutritional, but more the amount of chitin in the head. I'm sure most keepers have fed too a varying degree dubia or some other feeder roach and probably have noticed that the head chitin of the roach is passed intact. I feed orange heads once a week to all 3 of mine and regularly find them in their enclosures. Since hissers are so large there is concern that the head could lodge in the gut and cause an impaction.

 

[Walter1]

The issue with hissers isn't nutritional, but more the amount of chitin in the head. I'm sure most keepers have fed too a varying degree dubia or some other feeder roach and probably have noticed that the head chitin of the roach is passed intact. I feed orange heads once a week to all 3 of mine and regularly find them in their enclosures. Since hissers are so large there is concern that the head could lodge in the gut and cause an impaction.

Interesting. Maybe lopping off the heads is an option. Mine were never fed roaches, but I have a hisser colony and they would be a nutritious meal.